The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-08-17
The echange in New England.

New England. after b0asting for nearly
half century of having been the seed
bed Of the Republic. supplying the bulk
of the population Of dozen new states
and the brain and enterprise Of tWice
that number Of prosperous critics. finds l.
self az last a good deal the worse f0r this
phenomenal drain up0n is native stock.
While IT Is true that New England, a. a
whole, has increased steadily in popuia-
tion through every decade since the
founding Of the present Federal Govern
ment. the increase N the past thirty
/ or ferty wears has been entirely the r.
suit Of heavy foreign immigration. The
I census of 1855 showed an increase N the
/ population Of Vermont Of less than two
thousand in ten years, or about one-half
/ Of one per cent New Hampshire fsred a
little better. owing 70 the immigration Of
Canadians 10 is factory towns The IN
crease in Massachusetts,. C0nnsetieur and
Rhode Island was very considerable, but
wss confined almost exclusively to the
cities and manufacturing centres The
bill towns or purely agricultural districts.
from which the stock that settled North
eru Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and
Nebraska originally came, showed i
marked and uniform decline During
the last decade I4s Of the 3is critics AMI
towns Of Massachusetts show a loss in
population Of q 500. or9 - per cent
Similar losses can he shown IN the purely
agricultural portions Of every New Eng
land state except Rhosle Island.
Worse than the loss in numbers Is the
los in the quality Of the population.
The young and vigorous Of the native
population have evidently agreed with
Mrs.. Stowe IN the opinion that Connecti-
cut and the rest Of New England for that
matter, was good place to emigrate
from The old and the decrepit are left,
and a consequence farms have been
abandoned, houses once the dwelling
places Of large and thrifty families have
fallen into decay, churches have been
closed, the number of schools reduceti, as
Wei a. the efficiency Of those Ehich still
remain, and u general air Of decay per
vaces whole sections once thrifty and
prosperous. This condition i voHche,l
for by sueh newspapers as the spring
field Rsp15liora and the New York Ea7,-
iag P.sf. authorities that can neither De
Questioned nor charged with any prsjG-
dice against New England. The facts
are patent 10 anybody who vii make
trip through the outlying portions Of the
Sew England states.
The Causes that have let 70 this retro
grg=ss.ou are various The opening OF
great railway lines Il one Of Them. Towns
once busy and prosperous. situated along
oil and web known thoroughElres over
which stage coaches and freight wagons
ran half = century ago, have been $50
lated or side-traeked By the railways
which diverted traffic and travel into en-
tirely new. channels. New England /.
not alone. however. IN This sort Of expe-
rienee- New York and some other Mid
die States can furnish parallel instances
OF once prosperous towns falling into de-
cay because 4 railway passing within
few miles caused the establishment II
new towns which drew the business away
from the old and EFF them % fall into
ruin The opening Of the fertile lands Of
the West 70 settlement Was an0thersource
of.the depletion Of the agricultural pepu-
lation Of View England Culrvatiny the
sterile hills Of New England was always
heroic business. IN which the work was
constant and exhaustive and the returns
meagre. The young men who wanted TO
be farmers naturally preferred To culti-
vate the sOil Of the fertile Mississippi Val
ley. and thither they emigrared by hun
dred's Of thousands 10 become rich and
prosperous. leaving few behind them
with the Necessary force and stamina %
keep their New England hillsides in a
good state Of cultivation. The tendency
70 leave the farm for the cities and maTts
Of trade has also had il effect IN New
England as elsewhere, and when one
takes comprehensive view Of the
changes. both industrial and social, which
a hall century has wrought. the deteriO-
ration 0f the hill towns Of New England
is hardly a matter for surprise